Word: caesar
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Even the fine scene between mother and son is as masculine in its appeal as a trumpet call; it is the cello note, rather than poetry itself, that is absent from the play. Coriolanus is more Roman and less human, more heroic and less tragic than Julius Caesar or Antony and Cleopatra. Yet that is to describe rather than disparage it. Even with faults of production, this Coriolanus, as staged by Cinema Producer John (Julius Caesar) Houseman, makes a procession of graphic scenes. Its greatest weaknesses stem from miscasting. As Coriolanus, Hollywood's Robert Ryan is never large-statured...
...sometimes think," sang the Poet Omar, "that never blows so red the rose as where some buried Caesar bled." Few, if any. roses bloomed in the church of Spain's highland town of Viana where lethal and licentious Cesare Borgia was buried in March 1507. But over his remains, bled white by assassins' knives, rose a fine sarcophagus bearing the legend: "Here in little earth lies he who was feared by all, who held peace and war in his hand...
Contrary to the impression left by many reviews of the film, the great distinction of Julius Caesar is not the obvious success of Marlon Brando's diction lessons. Far more remarkable is the film's faithfulness to Shakespeare. As this suggests, Julius Caesar is perhaps even more notable for what it is not than for what it is. The film leans over backward to avoid any suggestion of spectacle, and there are no panoramic shots of Rome, no overblown crowd scenes, no technicolor sunsets to draw attention from beauty of language and intensity of feeling. Although the scenario discards some...
Tampering hardly at all with the pace of the play, the film moves slowly with a growing sense of impending tragedy toward the crescendo of Caesar's murder. From there, the film hurtles through the intense drama of the funeral oration, the quarrel in Brutus' camp, and the suicides of the "honorable men." Even the early scenes, however, are far from static because of the brilliance of James Mason's performance as Brutus and John Gielgud's as Cassius. Mason's portrayal of the incomparably noble man, whose decisions invariably prove fatal, has a grandeur which over-shadows the other...
Other big moneymakers for the year-Shane, The Robe-showed up on a few other "best" lists. The National Board of Review picked MGM's Julius Caesar as the No. 1 film. The remainder of the national board's top ten: Shane, From Here to Eternity, Martin Luther, Lili, Roman Holiday, Stalag 17, The Little Fugitive, Mogambo, The Robe...